Stop Government Purchases from Domestic and Overseas Sweatshops

While states cannot change the bad trade policy that has undermined the economy of Mexico and other countries from where immigrants frequently emigrate to the U.S., states do have the power through their own purchasing decisions to help end the global sweatshops that drive undocumented immigration.  California, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, along with sixty cities, counties and school districts, have changed their procurement policies to ban government purchases from contractors violating internationally recognized labor rights.

In Oklahoma this year, state Representative Rebecca Hamilton filed HB 3067 to address some of these roots causes of immigration.  The bill repealed portions of last year's anti-immigration law, and instead, made it illegal for the state of Oklahoma to contract with any company that has closed American facilities and opened new factories outside the country, unless they operate those factories in compliance with United States wage, safety, and human rights guarantees.

See also:

• Progressive States, Stopping Immigration at the Source: Anti-Sweatshop Legislation
• Global Exchange, Sweatfree Campaigns
• AFL-CIO, Stop Sweatshops
• Sweatfree Consortium, Model Resolution to Join the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium
• Sweatfree Communities, Procurement Officials in the Sweatfree Movement